Pope lashes out against ‘kickback God’

‘Those who take kickbacks have lost their dignity and give their children dirty bread.’

The straightforward address was given by Pope Francis to a crowd gathered at St Martha’s House, the pope’s residence in Vatican City after he moved out of the more luxurious papal apartments. With his latest sermon, the pope once again strengthened his image as a ‘clean-up’ pontiff fighting against corruption and cronyism within the ranks exposed by the Vatileaks case.

The reform-minded Argentinian Jesuit directed his speech on Friday to parents who fall ‘into the trap of worldliness.’ He said that graft and corruption plagues modern life, allowing criminals to feed their kids using privileges taken from ‘dishonest work.’

He also cited the parable of the dishonest steward who gave bribes, saying that the steward was an example of ‘worldliness’ because he embraced an ‘attitude of the shortcut, of the most comfortable way to earn a living.’

The pope said ‘And the habit of bribes is a mundane and extremely sinful habit. It’s a habit that does not come from God: God has commanded us to bring bread home through our own honest work!’ He added that giving bribes was like a drug, making us more dependent on the habit.

He said he would pray ‘that the Lord may change the hearts of those who worship the kickback god.’ He also called everyone to pray for those who have lost their dignity to bribes:

‘Let them realise that dignity comes from dignified work, from honest work, from daily work, and not from these shortcuts.’